The day after Leland Grove Police Chief Dan Ryan was arrested for domestic battery and driving under the influence, Sangamon County Judge Rudolph Braud granted Ryan pre-trial release. His next court appearance is March 11.
During the Feb. 6 hearing, Braud also struck an alcohol and drug evaluation that prosecutors argued is typically required for pre-trial release following a DUI charge. John Sharp, Ryan’s attorney, said agreeing to such an evaluation would cause Ryan to “breach his Fifth Amendment right… that could impact our case.” He said that his client intends to plead not guilty.
Shortly after midnight on Feb. 5, the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the Illinois State Police, due to a professional conflict of interest involving Ryan, for a disturbance at a residence in the 1000 block of West Elliot Street.
According to an Illinois State Police report of the incident reviewed by Illinois Times, an officer who entered Ryan’s residence in the early hours of Feb. 5, “noticed the window blinds were heavily damaged and laying on the floor, and the television was turned upside down hanging off of the stand it was previously sitting on.”
The police report states the victim, a 28-year-old woman, told officers that she lives at the same residence as Ryan, 53. She explained that the two got into an argument around 9 p.m. on Feb. 4 that turned physical when Ryan “grabbed her and shoved her down on the couch and pulled her hair, making physical contact in an insulting or provoking nature.” He then, according to the ISP report, “left the residence in his department-issued patrol vehicle.”
Sangamon County deputies later conducted a traffic stop on Ryan near the corner of East Madison Street and North Second Street, according to the report. “Ryan was subsequently arrested for driving under the influence… advised Ryan that he would be charged with domestic battery,” it reads.
A citation from Illinois State Police entered into the court filing noted that Ryan was driving a 2016 Dodge with a police license plate.
In a statement given at 12:40 a.m. on Feb. 5, the victim wrote: “I never expected to (sic) things happen as they did. Dan is not like this. I promise.”
Last year, Ryan was sworn into a high-ranking position with the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, a nonprofit that lobbies the Statehouse on behalf of “more than 1,400 law enforcement leaders.”
Illinois Times reached out to Kenneth Winslow, executive director of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, for comment prior to Ryan’s hearing but has not yet received a response.
Ryan has been with the Leland Grove Police Department for more than 25 years, according to the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, and was hired as a full-time officer in August 1999 after about six months of part-time work.
The city of Leland Grove has placed Ryan on administrative leave pending an investigation.
